Trade, Business and Human Rights

The relations between trade, business and human rights are quiet clear. Since time immemorial, trade and business exist to bring about human development: better jobs, higher incomes, increased opportunities for the persons engaging in the same, and also to facilitate achievement and realization of human rights such as access to food, water and sanitation, better livelihoods for people, right to work for those who are in the employment bracket, and so on.

However, while world trade and business has increased multifold, especially in the last century with inter and intra-continental trade and business deals, human rights principles have been compromised in the process. That is, and particularly in the last 30 years, many multi-national and trans-national businesses have criss-crossed borders in search of human, financial, natural and technical resources, to bolster their companies' profits. Driven by profits more often than not, these companies have violated basic human rights in the process.

Further still, bilateral and multi-lateral trade has increased between and amongst the international community. However, we have seen increasing trade and profits on the part of the rich countries at the expense of the poor countries.  Bilateral and/or multilateral trade and business agreements (often called 'Investment Treaties') between the rich and the poor countries have been signed. However, we have witnessed serious decline on the part of the poor countries' capacities to protect their citizens from human rights abuses by rich countries; as the poor countries seek foreign direct investment.

To the KHRC, these unethical, unfair, and sometimes illegal, trade and business regimes and practices constitute some of the worst forms of human rights violations in the 21st Century. With this background, KHRC took up this thematic area in 2005 to try and advocate for better trade and business regimes and practices in Kenya: either by Kenyan businesspersons or foreign investors. Our cause was to fight for fair trade relations between Kenya and other countries, better working conditions for workers, and of course, a comprehensive legal framework based on universal human rights principles, to guide the State and non-State actors in their trade and business practices. The main purpose of this thematic intervention is to ensure accountability of these actors to the Kenyan people.